Arthur Bell
Arthur "Art" Bell is a veteran detective who worked alongside Beth Childs. After helping his partner get away with a civilian shooting, Art is unknowingly meets Sarah Manning, Beth's clone posing as his partner. Art soon grows suspicious of her uncharacteristic and erratic behavior and begins to suspect not everything is as it seems. One thing becomes clear; he is not a man who likes a mystery to go unsolved. Biography Before the Series Arthur Bell is Beth Childs's partner. Out of loyalty, he helped clear Beth of a civilian shooting. Art was the first person Beth called after shooting Maggie Chen, a mistake as Beth should have called it in to the station first. Knowing that Beth was "tweaked" on her mixed pills, Art plants the phone in the victim's hand to make it look like Beth thought the woman was holding a gun so that they don't find out about Beth's drugs. Season 1 Shortly after Sarah goes through the purse she stole from Beth, Art begins calling Beth on her phone, and Sarah, of course, ignores the call. The next day, he goes to Beth's apartment and finds Sarah outside. Thinking that it was Beth, she takes her with him to the precinct for her trial, stressing the importance of the day for both of them. After Sarah vomits, causing the cancellation of the hearing for the day, Art expresses his disapproval of "Beth"'s claims to have panicked, but then takes it back, saying he was kidding. He makes it known that Beth used to call Art "dipshit" a lot when he asks "Beth" where her wit has gone. Despite his apparent anxiousness about the case as well, he tries to comfort his partner about the shooting, thinking that it was what has been bothering her. Both worried and suspicious of her partner, Art tails "Beth" and follows her to Felix Dawkins' apartment. Art then goes through the bag in "Beth"'s trunk, planning only on leaving the case files on Maggie Chen so that "Beth" can study it. However, Art sees the money Sarah withdrew from Beth's account and suspects "Beth" of planning on running from her responsibilities. Art then decides to take the money as leverage to get "Beth" to focus on the hearing. After Sarah and Felix realize Art has taken the money and replaced it with the Maggie Chen files, "Beth" makes an early morning call to Art. She accuses Art of stealing from her, leading Art to reply that he is just taking her "by the hand" and helping her regain her position with the police department. He meets with "Beth" at a restaurant and they practice the story she will give to the police board. "Beth" then asks Art to return the money, which he rebuffs. After "Beth" successfully pressures her doctor Anita Bowers into clearing her to return to duty, she goes before the police board and gives a convincing performance. After she returns to the police station to talk to Art, Lieutenant Gavin Hardcastle calls her and Art into his office. Hardcastle declares that she has been reinstated, and he gives her Beth's badge and gun. Sarah goes to the restroom to ready herself for duty, but she has difficulty figuring out how the gun is supposed to be worn and, perhaps uneasy about carrying a loaded gun, places her ammunition in her back pocket. Art drives "Beth" to the scene of Katja Obinger's murder, while "Beth" pitifully attempts to call in their action. Art has to help "Beth" with the numbers she is supposed to use, but he dismisses the incident as a symptom of memory loss due to the trauma of Beth shooting Maggie Chen. After they arrive at the scene, Art discusses the condition of the body with forensic scientist Janis Beckwith. Beckwith claims that the face was so badly maimed by a gravel crusher that she will require a long period of time to reconstruct what the face looks like. "Beth" admits that the amateurish burying of the body does not match the professionalism of the hit. Once alone with Sarah, Art notices that "Beth" has her ammo in her back pocket, and he demands to see her gun. "Beth" struggles to pull it out, and when she shows it to him, he complains about "Beth" taking a call with him with her gun not loaded. She makes the excuse that the assignment was low risk, and that she is not yet up to speed. Art declares that she can get up to speed at her desk, and that he will partner with Angela Deangelis until "Beth" is ready. Art and Angie visit the site of the shooting, determining that three people were at the scene of the crime, They find the spot where the shots were fired from, but they struggle to explain the role of the mysterious third person. They locate a red haired doll head, but they do not realize that it appears to match the doll body present in the hotel room of Katja because Sarah does not tell them of the connection. Art tells "Beth" that she must go with him to the gun range. Sarah, believing that she cannot credibly use a gun effectively without practice, enlists the aid of Alison Hendrix. Alison teaches Sarah the basics of using a gun, and she suggests that Sarah use a Walther P99 instead of a Glock because of its grip. After Sarah quickly improves her accuracy, she is able to give an impressive performance in front of Art, who kids her about her "Lady Grip Walther." Now that "Beth" has demonstrated her proficiency with a gun, Art takes her to a Ukrainian neighborhood where a stolen motorcycle was spotted. They enter an unlocked apartment, and they find matching verses circled in a Bible and written on a wall. Sarah notices a sniper at the window and dives on Art, landing on top of him as he hits the floor. Art's ear is grazed by a bullet, and he asks "Beth" to follow the sniper alone. When he catches up with Sarah, she is on the ground and her mouth is injured. "Beth" insists that she can walk, but she struggles to stand up and Art is forced to steady her. Once Hardcastle joins them, Sarah fools Art and Hardcastle into believing that the sniper is a man, telling them that she did not see the sniper's face. Hardcastle admonishes Art for sending "Beth" into harm's way alone. Art offers to drive "Beth" home, but she claims she is well enough that she does not need a ride. Feeling grateful that "Beth" saved his life, he returns the money to Sarah. Smiling, Sarah points out that Art lied about not having the money in his trunk. The next day, Art and "Beth" go to the home of a boy named Trevor who saw the sniper in his house. Art notices that the sniper performed self-surgery. When Art asks Trevor what the sniper looks like, the boy points to Sarah. Back at the police station, Art receives a call from the sniper, who has electronically disguised her voice. She asks Art if his partner can hear, and he tells the sniper that the whole office is now listening in. She gives a variant of the code used by Katja and Cosima Niehaus and drops further hints. The police decide on a location to investigate, but when they rush off on the wild goose chase, the sniper sneaks into the police station. She rearranges the pictures of evidence in the shape of a body, and she sits at Beth's desk. When Beth's boyfriend Paul Dierden calls, she tells him "come get me." After the police return, Paul arrives. Sarah tries to explain away the call, telling him that she did not really need him to come. When Art comes over, Paul angrily complains to Art about Sarah's injury and suggests that "Beth" wants to leave the force, while Sarah is trying to calm both of them down. After Paul leaves, Art complains to "Beth" that the situation was unprofessional, and that he does not understand why she wants to quit. "Beth" replies that she is embassassed about Paul's visit, and she assures Art that she has no intention of quitting. Sarah receives a call at Beth's desk from the sniper, who identifies herself as Helena. Sarah writes down an address, takes the piece of paper from the pad, and leaves for the apartment. Art decides that something strange has happened, and he goes over to the desk. He reads the address from the indentations on the pad, and then he cross-references the address, realizing that "Beth" has gone to the apartment of Maggie Chen. When Art arrives at the apartment, he finds "Beth" there alone. She lamely explains that she just took a walk to clear her head and somehow ended up there. Back at the station again, "Beth" calls a meeting with Art and Hardcastle. The two men press her to explain how she ended up at Maggie Chen's apartment, clearly not believing her explanation. Then they ask her why she called the meeting. She annonces that she is quitting the force, turns in her badge and gun, and walks out of the police station. For the rest of the season, Art's role on the show is diminished. With "Beth" gone, the investigation into the death of the still unidentified Katya continues. As frustrations mount, Hardcastle declares that all of the evidence needs to be reexamined, As a consequence,Art, Angie, and Janis meet with Colin, who was conned by Felix into believing that Beth's body was actually Sarah's. They get a fresh set of fingerprints, and they ask Colin for Felix's address. When Art and Angie arrive at Felix's apartment, they find only Felix there due to Colin warning Felix with a phone call. Art asks Felix about Sarah, and Felix tells them he is mourning Sarah's death. When Art mentions Beth Childs, Felix feigns ignorance. Art notices Felix's artwork, and he picks up pictures of Alison and Cosima. Felix dissembles that the pictures are "the many sides of Sarah." Art and Angie leave Felix's apartment, go around the corner, and stop. Once Felix closes the door, Art tells Angie he has been here before and redials a number from a phone call he got the previous night. Felix answers, and Art and Angie can hear the echo caused by both ends of the phone call being in their proximity. Art tells Angie that last night's phone call was in reference to Beth and that he previously was here when he suspected Beth was leaving town with $75,000. Since the two cops know that Felix knows about Beth but pretended not to, Angie suggests that they bring Felix to the police station. Art disagrees, insisting that they gather more evidence first. Pressured by Hardcastle, Art tells Angie that he wants to keep his suspicions quiet for one more day. Angie voices a suspicion that Art is hiding something, and Art repeats his self-imposed deadline back to her. Art meets with Sarah, showing her Felix's picture, but "Beth" pretends ignorance. Art asks her to come clean, and she suggests to him that he keep the situation quiet because he helped cover up what happened to Maggie Chen. Art travels to the train station where he thinks Sarah died. He locates a surveilance camera, and he asks to see the relevant recording. When he watches it, he realizes that Beth, not Sarah, walked in front of the train, and that Sarah stole Beth's purse. He returns to the police station, and Hardcastle tells him that he is going to ask for a warrant for Beth's arrest. Art explains to Hardcastle and Deangelis that Beth is dead, and they need a warrant for Sarah Manning instead. The police arrest both Sarah and Felix, and they bring them to the police station. Art questions Sarah about both Beth and Janis' now completed image of Katja's face. Sarah tells him little, but she denies murdering either, She ask Art for protection for herself and her daughter Kira, and he agrees. Sarah begins to explain why she looks like so many other women, but before she can admit that she is a clone, the Dyad lawyer Daniel Rosen arrives and she leaves with him. The police finally determine Katja's name, but they are frustrated by the fact that the case falls under federal juristriction. Art tells Angie that he has another lead, Sarah's associate Vic. Art and Angie find Vic at a rehabilitation center, and they hector him about an outstanding warrant for stolen pork. Vic tells Art and Angie that he last saw Sarah at a suburban address, but he does not know to tell them that the address is actually that of Alison. When Art and Angie park across the street and look at Alison's house, they see her getting her mail. They conclude that the woman they see is not Sarah, but rather she is yet another person who looks like Beth. Appearances Trivia *According to his business card in Instinct, he is assigned to the South Central District of the Metropolitan Police, located at 304 Queen Street. *His badge number is 1025. Category:Characters Art Category:Male Characters Category:Season 1 Characters